Great Gift for the Holidays!

OK, I can hear you saying it "COME ON...Summer isn't even over and you're talking about the holiday season already!? You're crazy!" Here's the thing, while I may be a little crazy here and there, I'm actually not on this one.

I looked at the calendar and just about died! How do I figure? 2 weeks for holiday shipping + 4-6 weeks for drying time (most portraits are painted in oils and they take a long time to dry) + time to work on the painting (they each require several steps with drying time in between) and WOW! Here we are!

If you’ve been thinking about ordering a special gift this year contact me before September 10th and save 10% on a custom portrait!

Sale on Custom Portraits
10% off now through September 10th

Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza

Here is another digital illustration which I had a lot of fun with. I started with a pencil sketch of the bee then once I redrew him in Illustrator I created the rest of the scenery, then I recreated it, then recreated it again, and again, and here it is. I decided on flowers, you can't have a bee without flowers and what better color flowers than purple! A hive, every bee needs a home. Additional bees because a bee needs his friends! And sun, ahhhhh sun! As it's getting cooler out nothing sounds better than finding a warm spot in the sun!

Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza!
Print Available on Etsy

I also reworked the background of the cat illustrations and added an orange kitty to the mix.

Black Cat
Print Available on Etsy

White Cat
Print Available on Etsy

Orange Cat
Print Available on Etsy

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Cat Illustration

Recently I've been sketching some cute animal characters. I decided to scan them in and turn them into digital illustrations. Here is the first one of a sweet white cat with a pink flower and a colorful butterfly.

I'm excited to have added a print of this little guy to my shop over on etsy!

White Cat
5x5 print in 8x8 frame
https://www.etsy.com/listing/111321908/white-cat-with-flower-and-butterfly-5x5

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I love my new camera!

I simply LOVE taking photos. I took my first photography class in high school and I really enjoyed it. At that time it was all traditional photography with the rolls of film, the dark room, chemical baths, etc. I took my next class in college. As an Illustration major, the importance taking reference photos was frequently stressed. It was still film at that time and I got a Pentax K1000 for the job! I loved my Pentax! Still do, actually, though film isn't very practical anymore so it's been mostly collecting dust for the past 10 or so years while I've gone through a few small point and shoot digital cameras.

While point and shoots do a good job for the most part and have gotten more and more convenient to carry size-wise, I have been longing for a dSLR for quite a while and I finally got one this summer! I narrowed my search down to two cameras, a Nikon d7000 and a Canon 60D. I finally settled on the Canon and I love it! I also love my Tamron 18-270 lens which some may argue doesn't have the quality as shorter focal length lenses, I simply love the convenience of only having to lug around one lens. Also, it fits quite nicely in my snug form fitting case so when I'm playing the tourist I don't need to heft around a camera bag!

Canon 60D with Tamron 18-270 lens and my Mickey Mouse strap purchased at Disney for my Pentax back when I was in college.

LOVE this case by USA Gear which I found on Amazon! It has a small zipper section on the back for carrying things, I use it for money, license, etc though I think it's meant for extra memory cards and such.

This is a photo from Canon's site. One big reason I picked this camera over the Nikon is that flip out screen, on the left, which can be closed with the screen facing inward to protect it. I have screen protectors on everything I own and this feature allowed me to not have to worry about this one. I couldn't be more happy with it!

Here are a couple of my favorites from a trip to a winery a few weeks ago. I will very likely be painting from a few of these.

Very funny and frisky cat at the winery

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Kiti, Abacus, and Sumi - Final

Kiti

12x12

oil

Abacus

12x12

oil

Sumi

12x12

oil

Finally, the finished cat siblings. These were fun! I especially like the way the painting of Kiti turned out, the colors at her feet, the look in her eye. Painting black cats was a challenge as it was tough to make out details in the photos.

Sumi - Work in Progress 3

Of all of the paintings I've photographed the WIPs for this I'm having the absolute worst time with this one and the one of Abby, in all of the stages. I take several shots and they all come out a bit blurry with intense hot spots and reflections. Hopefully the final scan will be better. In the mean time, here's another shiny shot of Sumi.

Abby - Work in Progress 3

This photo is kinda fuzzy but here's the third WIP posting for Abby.

Kiti - Work in Progress 2

The second stage of Kiti.

Sumi - Work in Progress 2

I'm back home from the holidays and back to painting! Here's the next stage of Sumi. I've also been day dreaming about the upcoming spring and doing some plein air painting. I've never really done it before unless you count the couple of times in high school and college classes but I've been feeling a pull to try it lately. So, my new obsession is checking out pochade boxes. I currently have a French Easel which I love for around the house but is quite heavy and cumbersome to take out and about. I may try it a bit with my current easel just to see if I like it first though...in the mean time I'm sure I'll be hanging out quite a bit on http://www.guerrillapainter.com! :)

Kiti - Work in Progress 1

The sketch for the third of the three cat paintings I'm currently working on. This is Kiti, Sumi's and Abby's sister.

Abby - Work in Progress 2

Getting the first layer of paint down on Abby. I'm really having fun working with these colors!

Abby - Work in Progress 1

Sketch of the second of the three cats I'm working on. This is Sumi's (previous post) brother Abacus (Abby). I remembered to stop and get a photo of this one at the sketch (scribble) stage. The sketch is quite rough, just trying to get a general composition down more than anything, getting the likeness will come later.

Sumi - Work in Progress 1

This is the first stage of one of three cat paintings I'm currently working on.